What is a cash bond in a legal setting and what purpose do they serve?
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A bond (typically called bail when it’s in cash) is some amount of money you pay to the court to get out of jail while there are pending criminal charges against you. Courts also want to make sure you come back for your future court appearances, but in a lot of cases, it’s not just to keep someone in jail prior to conviction. Bond is basically a compromise – it’s collateral to incentivize you to come back to court. Whatever money you pay, you get back once your case is over if you show up for all of your court appearances. If you don’t show up, you forfeit that money and a warrant is issued for your arrest.
Most people can’t pay cash bail if the amount is high, so there are often bond services that allow you to pay only a portion of the bond amount and they pay the rest. Some are commercial and charge you a fee, and others might be run by the state. The same rules apply as above – if you show up to court, you get your money back (minus any fees you pay) and if you don’t, you get a warrant and someone comes after you.
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